Aberrant
by random-k
Summary: Alex's life rarely went as expected.


Aberrant

* * *

_I own nothing but my own Ideas_

Aberrant (AB-er-ent) [deff]: deviating from the proper course

* * *

There's nothing really special about you.

Sure, you're the first born son of a noble house, but that's not particularly uncommon, since noble houses want a son to carry on the family name. Like all firstborn sons, You will go to Corus to learn to become a knight. Your Ok with that, you decide, because you never had any other plans anyways, and "Why not?"

So you go to Corus to become a Knight. You find out you are good at math swords and archery. You find the hatred, but you also find friends in Gary, Raoul, Francis, and the Prince. And you decide "maybe I don't need to be special to be important." Its an important realization, made in a moment of clarity and respect, but like all good things, it does not last.

You go home and remember that Tirragon is not all that important to the world around it. Fairly new in the book of Copper, no alliances, and a conquered land. The finery they have in the castle, the food you eat everyday, is expensive enough to feed everyone on your Fief. And with that you begin to grow up.

* * *

A boy named Alan comes, and the world you live in tilts on an axis. Everyone focus on him. Alan is being bullied, and all of your friends wont shut up about it, no matter that there had been plenty bullied before him. Alan's Teachers praise the boys skills to the heavens. He's likes the boy- really- but the general worlds inability to shut up about him grates on his nerves.

Then _your_ first brush with death comes.

It does not come to you on a battlefield, like you had always expected, but as disease, the Black Gods hand grabbing many people – those you knew, and just as many who you will never meet- to bring them to the Peaceful Realms.

It is an experience you will never forget.

But life continues on in spite of it, and you grow up and apart from your friends, and one day you come to realize something. You realize that while Jon is a good friend, he is not the leader you or your people need. And while he could prove to grow into one in the future, change needs to happen now. Right now Jon promises to be a bit more adventuresome then his father, but not much else.

Then Roger comes to Corus, and your given a chance to become someone influential, and of course you take it. The throne is not always passed down directly, and sometimes an older relative can make a stronger claim. It wasn't as if these things were all that strange. And maybe it will help Tirragon.

* * *

You realize, one day at a party, that you are not interested in girls. It isn't because you are into guys, but because the girls never seem to have anything interesting to say. They have nothing interesting to say, because they have nothing in common with you, and there is nothing to talk about. Probably nothing interesting happens to them in that convent ever, and that's why they never have anything interesting to talk about, and come out as the same mould of person. You are not capable of swooning over a body alone, no you demand a slice of something surprising with that.

And maybe that's extremely unusual, but you don't want to be a fool in love. All the love struck fools you know, do stupid things, like compose terrible poetry, and force their friends to listen to it.

And so you sit back and watch various squires be fools in love, and consider swearing off it. That's when your eye brings you to someone in a similar position to you. His is arguably worse actually. Alan is forced by his squire-master to dance with various girls, and looks extremely uncomfortable with it.

Maybe Alan is scared of girls. He probably has not had much of them in his life, and has no idea how to handle them.

Maybe you can help him out. You try to rekindle friendship with him, and the rivalry that comes with it is very refreshing. Its interesting, and fun, and you have missed being sparing someone close to your skill.

And then it goes horribly wrong.

You don't exactly remember what happened, but one moment you were fighting a knight from Tusaine, and the next moment everyone is claiming you tried to kill Alan, and he stares at you in fear.

And you are so confused. Why would you want to hurt Alan? Where had the battlefield come from? Hadn't the war been over for awhile? What had happened?

But no one wants to listen to your confused questions. With that injury you gave to Alan, your friends look at you with distrust, and your dreams are filled with vivid dreams of battle. No one wants to help you, not when they don't trust you, or listen to you. Well, almost no one.

* * *

When you think the world around you makes some sort of sense again, Alan goes and messes it up. First he is revealed to be a woman. Its in the middle of while he is fighting one of your only friends (and hope to the future). Then something really odd happens. You fall for a girl. You are even distracted with an insane desire to interrupt the fighting by proposing to her.

That would put off the fight, and both people you care about would survive. This has to be the most surprising thing that has happened to you , ever. And it was from a girl- possibly the most interesting girl you have ever met- and one who you could hold a conversation with that was actually about things you cared about. It's a shame she thinks you tried to kill her, and is ridiculously devoted to Jon. Perhaps you should wait, and convince her brother to put in a good word for you. She probably wouldn't accept a random proposal, but he might convince her.

Then she kills your friend, and with it, your interest. Who would marry the person who killed their friend?

Upon reflection, that moment is really odd, but Alanna goes off to the desert, and you mourn your friend, and life goes on. You try to put yourself back together, before she comes back, and something else weird happens.

* * *

As it turns out, Alannas family has a natural ability to turn the world on its head. Because one All Hallows Eve, Thom brings Roger back from the dead.

At first, it's a miracle. This Coup could change everything. The idea of killing Jon does not bother you as much, because your tired of seeing good people go hungry. Your friend and hope is back. Its only latter- when its too late to back out- that you realize something important. This is a mistake. The Mage did not bring your friend back. He brought back one of the hungry ones.

The hungry ones are an old local story of spirits who wanted to do nothing but eat. It was said one day they would destroy the world in their greed, and there would be nothing left. Rogers plan of earthquakes and fighting would destroy the economy, and leave nothing to restore his people's life. It could destroy everything in the land. He would kill everything like this.

But there is nothing you can do, but go along with this plan. Perhaps you can find a moment of weakness and stop this madness. Beat the odds. Then a new face would sit on the throne after this madness died down.

Yours.

Because, maybe your no longer an ordinary knight. You probably lost that claim years ago. Perhaps- you dream- you are someone with a destiny. Extraordinary.

It's with that mindset you walk off to face Alanna.

* * *

_A friend of mine (For privacy, has requested to be __Aizere') was talking about her ideas about Alex, and asked me to make a story with her angle. Alex is a hard person to characterize, because his motivations are hard to pin down. Anyways, this is for you __Aizere, with your interpretation of it'. Or at least I hope you like it. The net can always use more about Alex._

_His odd moment of Alanna interest comes from our Idea that woman who can fight is a kind of turn on for him._

_Personally, my favorite interpretation comes from Ankhiale's "The Grim Grey Hills." Check it out if you have not already, its awesome._

_Don't forget to review. _


End file.
